Automatic oiler for slat conveyers



June 26, 1951 c. R. MILLER 2,558,370

AUTOMATIC OILER FOR SLAT CONVEYERS Filed June 26', 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR.

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June 26, 1951 c. R. MILLER AUTOMATIC OILERFOR SLAT CONVEYERS 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 26, 1947 Patented June 26, 1 951 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC OILER FOR SLAT CONVEYERS Charles R. Miller,Tujunga, Calif.

Application June 26, 1947, Serial No. 757,247

2 Claims. 1

' The present invention relates to a device for automaticallylubricating the bearings of conveyors, particularly of the type referredto as slat conveyors. Such conveyors are used in sugar or flour mills tocarry bags of the products handled over considerable distances, and thework of lubricating the bearings of such conveyors is both slow andexpensive. It is for these reasons, the general object of my inventionto provide a lubricant dispensing device which may be mounted in suchposition relative to the conveyor that it becomes actuated therebyautomatically to lubricate all bearings thereof during the continuedmovement of the conveyor. 3 Another object of the invention is toprovide a device of the type referred to which may readily bedisconnected and as readily reconnected for lubricating purposes.

The object of the invention, as well as the many important featuresthereof, will be better understood from the following detaileddescription and reference is invited to the accompanying drawings, ofwhich:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of one end of aconveyor showing therelation to the conveyor taken by the device of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the lower reach of the conveyor andof the lubricating device associated therewith.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the combination shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the invention on a, larger scale asit appears when removed from the conveyor;

Fig. 5 is a substantially corresponding plan view of one side of thedevice and Fig. 6 is an end view taken in the direction of the arrow 6of Fig. 4.

Conveyors of the type herein considered may be variously constructed andit is for this reason thought sufiicient in the drawings merely toindicate such conveyor, diagrammatically. As illustrated, it comprises apair of chains consisting of links I, 2, 3 and 4, which are journaled onshafts 5, and rollers 6, I are mounted to rotate on these shaftsadjacent the said links. These rollers are proportioned to ride ingrooves 8 of sprocket wheels 9 which latter are mounted to rotate with ashaft 10. It is to be understood that a shaft ill and a pair of sprocketwheels thereon are provided at each end of the conveyor in the usualconventional manner.

An endless series of slats H are provided with hinge members l2, 13,which ride on the shafts 5 and are so positioned as to permit the slatsfreedom of swinging movement on the shafts as required during thepassage of the conveyor around the pulleys 9.

The lubricant dispensing device of the invention in the form illustratedin the drawings is made in two parts, one of which is mounted at oneside of the conveyor and the other at the other side thereofsubstantially as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. As these two devices may beexactly alike except that one is right and the other left, it is thoughtsufficient to describe in detail only one of them and it is to beunderstood this description pertains equally to the other.

A frame l5 rises from the floor or other supporting surface for theconveyor and the shaft I8 is seated to rotate in this frame. As bestshown in Fig 3, this shaft extends across the conveyor and it issimilarly journaled in the frame on the other side thereof. A disc I! isrigidly mounted on this shaft and it is made with a series of circulargrooves l8 of a size to ride on the periphery of the rollers I. When thedisc I! is correctly positioned relative to the roller, substantially asindicated in Fig. 1, it is seen that rotation is imparted to this discas the lower reach of the chain passes thereunder during the operationof the conveyor. A second disc 20 is rigidly secured to the shaft adistance off from said disc I1 and this second disc is grooved to forman equidistant series of cams on which a plunger 22 is seated to ride.As better shown in Figs. 4 and 5, this plunger forms the rod of a piston23, which is mounted to operate within a cylinder 24 and a spring 25urges this rod against the surface of the cam wheel. The rod 22 is forthis purpose made with a series of perforations 26 through one of whichis inserted a cotter pin 21 and a washer 28 is seated behind this cotterpin to form a better bearing for the spring 25.

The piston head 23 is fitted pivotally to support a gate 29 and thisgate operates during reciprocations of the piston to force lubricant tothe bearings of the conveyor in the manner which will now be described.

Below the conveyor reach is placed a tank 33 into which extends a tube34, which latter is in communication with the rear end of the cylinder24. A conduit 35 extends downward from the front end of the cylinder andit terminates at the bottom in a short lateral extension 36 from thebottom of which projects nozzles 31, 3B. As shown in the drawings, thesenozzles straddle the rollers l and are positioned to deliver a stream 3of oil to the bearings on each side of each roller during the time thatit moves past these nozzles.

It should be clear to anyone familiar with the art that the piston rodis moved by the cam disc to reciprocate the piston within the cylinderand that rearward movement thereof causes gate 29 to open and to admitlubricant into the space 39 in front of the gate. Continued movement ofthe conveyor causes the cam again to advance the piston rod against thetension of the spring thereby to cause the gate 29 to close and to forcethe lubricant through an aperture 40 at the front end of the cylinderand through the conduits 35 and 36, causing the lubricant to becomeejected through the nozzles 31 on to the bearings of the conveyor.During this forward movement of the piston it is seen that a vacuum iscreated behindthe gate causing lubricant to rise through the conduit 34into the cylinder. A ball valve 4| is placed at the bottom of theconduit 34 to prevent return flow of the lubricant into the tank 33. Thepassage 40 through the front end of the cylinder is similarly controlledby'the ball valve 42 which is retained in position against displacementtherefrom by means of a foraminous guard 43.

It is seen from the brief foregoing description that the device of theinvention will automatically lubricate the bearings of the conveyor.Since, however, it may not be found necessary continuously to performsuch lubricating operation, it is necessary to provide means for.disconnecting the mechanism from the conveyor and this may be done invarious ways. Illustrative of such disconnection, I have shown the discI! clamped in position on the shaft l6 by means of a set screw [4 which,when it is desired to disconnect the mechanism, may be loosenedsufiiciently to move the wheel inward on the shaft sufficiently to clearthe roller I. It should be understood, of course, that the disc I! atthe other side of the conveyor would be similarly moved at the sametime. In addition, it is advisable and may be found necessary to lockthe piston rod in advanced position and this may be done by extendingtherethrough an additional perforation 36 through which the pin 27 maybe inserted after the piston rod has been manually advanced to bringthis perforation beyond the front surface of the bearing 3|.

It was above stated that a series of perforations 26 were made throughthe piston rod 22 and it is seen that the pin 21 may be inserted throughany one of these perforations thereby to Vary the length of the strokeof the piston and in turn, the amount of lubricant applied to thebearings.

It is seen from the foregoing description that I have provided a verysimple and efficient device for hearing lubrication, but While I haveherein merely made mention of the most essential elements of suchdevice, I wish it understood that the drawings are merely illustrativeand it is for the engineer competent to design such machine to embodytherein suchv devices as are required by modern engineering practice. Itwill, for example, be found necessary to provide suitable packing 32 atthe rear end of the cylinder in order to prevent waste of lubricant.While I have described a preferred form of the invention, I do notintend to be limited to the sizes,

4 shapes and combinations illustrated, but retain the right to embodymodifications therein such as will fall within the scope of the claimshereto appended. It may, for example, be found sufficient, instead ofhaving one conveyor driven dispensing device on each side of the slats,merely to combine the two lateral conduits 36 into a single conduit.Such single conduit would receive lubricant from a dispensing device atone side of the conveyor only, making it possible entirely to leave outthe other.

I claim:

1. The combination with a conveyor including parallel chains hung onsprocket wheels and transverse rods forming pivots on which the links ofthe chains are rotatably hung, or rollers hung on said rods adjacent thelinks of the chains, a stationary frame rising above and straddling the\lower reach of the conveyor, a transverse shaft hung for rotation insaid frame, discs secured to said shaft, said discs having equidistantlyspaced peripheral grooves for engagement with the passing conveyorrollers, to rotate the shaft, cams secured to the shaft, said cams beingmade with equidistantly spaced shallow peripheral grooves correspondingin number to the grooves of the discs, a lubricant dispensing mechanismon the frame having downwardly projecting nozzles directly above thepath of travel of the rollers, and plunger-s in said dispensingmechanism operable by said cams to expel lubricant on to each passingroller of the chain.

2. The combination with a conveyor including parallel chains hung onsprocket wheels and transverse rods forming pivots on which the links ofthe chains are rotatably hung, of rollers hung on said rods adjacent thelinks of the chains, a stationary frame rising above and straddling thelower reach of the conveyor, a transverse shaft hung for rotation insaid frame, discs secured to said shaft, said discs having equidistantlyspaced peripheral grooves for engagement with the passing conveyorrollers to rotate the shaft, cams secured to the shaft, said cams beingmade with equidistantly spaced shallow peripheral grooves correspondingin number to the grooves of the discs, lubricant dispensing mechanismshung on the frame above the chain and havin each a nozzle directly abovethepath of travel of the rollers, spring-held plungers in saidmechanisms engaging the cams for operation by the cams to expellubricant on to each passing roller of the chain. 7

CHARLES R. MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 570,549 Gregory Nov. 3, 1896881,896 Brown Mar. 17, 1908 1,902,601 Warner Mar. 21, 1933 1,933,464 1West Oct. 31, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 368,068 GreatBritain Mar. 3, 1932 457,899 Great Britain Dec. 8, 1936

